Housed in the historic Landhaus, the city museum tells 800 years of Dresden history with more than 1,000 exhibits, city models, and media stations.
February 28, 2026 – February 28, 2027
The extended show compares housing built with prefabricated concrete panels in East and West Germany from 1945 to the present. Models, photos, interviews, and a prefab-housing Tetris game lead to the question of whether serial construction has a future.
August 21, 2025 – October 31, 2026
On the forecourt of the museum, a Torah scribe publicly writes a complete Torah scroll in a glass pavilion – a project of the Jüdische Kultusgemeinde Dresden (Jewish community of Dresden) with an accompanying program. Free access during set writing times.
The Stadtmuseum Dresden was founded in 1891. Its core holdings were the council silver and other treasures from the council archives, the local history collection of the city library, and the holdings of the Verein für Geschichte und Topographie Dresdens (Society for the History and Topography of Dresden); its first director was council archivist Otto Richter. After several locations, initially in the Loßsches Palais, the museum moved into the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) in 1910, where it remained until 1945.
After the town hall was destroyed, the museum showed its holdings from 1950 to 1965 in the Stadthalle on Nordplatz. In 1966, as the "Institut und Museum für Geschichte der Stadt Dresden", it moved into the rebuilt Landhaus. Court architect Friedrich August Krubsacius had built this structure in 1770–1775 for the Saxon estates; it combines late Baroque, Rococo, and early Neoclassicism. After German reunification, the museum regained its original name.
From 2003 to 2006 the Landhaus was remodeled for the Stadtmuseum and the Städtische Galerie (municipal gallery). For the city's anniversary in 2006, the current permanent exhibition opened; in three halls, with more than 1,000 objects, over 20 media stations, film installations, and a small cinema, it tells the city's history from its beginnings to the present. The museum belongs to the Museen der Stadt Dresden group.
| Adults | €8 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €6School students, students, apprentices, people in retraining, BFD/FSJ volunteers, retirees, and tour guides; 50% discount for people with a disability degree (GdB) of 50 or more and holders of the Ehrenamtspass (volunteer pass) and the Kulturpass Euroregion Elbe/Labe |
| Children & teens | €6free up to age 6 · Children under 7 free; school students pay the reduced price. |
| Seniors | €6Retirees pay the reduced price. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €4companion free · 50% discount from GdB 50; companion with "B" marker admitted free. |
| Students & apprentices | €6Reduced price for students and apprentices. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €7 per personFrom 10 people: adults €7, reduced €5, school students/students €3; guided tour an additional €3 or €2 per person. |
| Families | €8Family ticket Mini (1 adult and 1–4 children) €8, Maxi (2 adults and 1–4 children) €16. |
| Family ticket Maxi (2 adults and 1–4 children) | €16 |
| Combination ticket with the Städtische Galerie | €14Reduced €10 |
| Annual pass for the Museen der Stadt Dresden | €60Reduced €40, partner pass for 2 registered people €90 |
Free admission: Free admission on Fridays from 12:00
Tickets only at the museum ticket desk in the Landhaus, no online sales. Free admission with the Dresden-Pass, among others, and for members of the Museumsbund, ICOM, and the Dresdner Geschichtsverein. The FAQ lists €5 as the group price; according to the price page, this is the reduced group rate (adults €7).
Automatic entrance doors; all exhibition rooms reachable by wheelchair-accessible elevator. Wheelchair-accessible restroom with baby changing facilities on the first floor. Accessible parking space on Friesengasse. Loaner wheelchairs, folding stools, and strollers at the ticket desk. Multimedia guide with videos in German Sign Language and texts in Leichte Sprache (easy-to-read German); two architectural models to explore by touch. Exhibition texts in German, English, and Ukrainian.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 6 |
|---|---|
| Family ticket | €8 · Family ticket Mini (1 adult and 1–4 children) €8, Maxi (2 adults and 1–4 children) €16. |
Holiday program and offerings for families; birthday parties at the museum. Strollers for toddlers can be borrowed at the ticket desk, baby changing facilities in the accessible restroom on the first floor.
Pirnaischer Platz · 100 m
Tram 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 12, bus 62, and regional buses 261, 333, 360, 477, 478 to Pirnaischer Platz; from the main train station about 1.6 km or around a 20-minute walk through the old town.
Paid parking · 160 m to the entrance
No parking lot of its own, only limited parking options: Schießgasse parking lot (about 160 m) and Altmarkt underground garage (about 400 m), both paid. Accessible parking space on Friesengasse directly at the museum.
The distance of 100 m refers to the Landhausstraße entrance.
Get directionsMuseum café on the first floor with coffee and snack vending machines; museum garden with sculptures (shared with the Städtische Galerie). Museum shop in the Landhaus.
Up to 150 guests.
Banquet hall (300 m², approx. 150 people), column hall and staircase for standing receptions (approx. 150 people), museum café (up to 40 people), and museum garden. Civil wedding ceremonies in the banquet hall (room rental €200, booked through the Dresden registry office).
Inquiries & details| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Permitted free of charge for private purposes; commercial photography only on request |
| Good to know | Audio guide and headphones free at the ticket desk. Backpacks not allowed in the exhibitions; lockers available. Public guided tours cost extra on top of admission; groups and school classes via visitor services (+49 351 4887272, service@museen-dresden.de). |
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